I probably don't play as many grand wargames as I should, but I do enjoy a good turn-based strategy game now and then. However, there is a problem I hit with a lot of strategy games that keeps me going back to Civilization.

It's pretty safe to argue that things like Europa Universalis are exceedingly complicated and fit on the same continuum. The difference, of course, is that they're not dedicated wargames. For most of Europa Universalis, you don't technically have to go to war if you really don't want to - although this might be an…

I certainly, absolutely, very much hope you're right. While I think you're right - and I stake a lot of my future hopes on exactly what you said - I also know that there's the other side of the coin on this one. We, as a species, have an amazing track record in our ability to lie in the face of adversity and manage to…

Exactly. It's very tough as a student to have to go through this process when you know what the teachers are doing, and yet you still have to do it their way. I struggled through that exact problem throughout my theater classes. (My writing professors were a little more open to experimentation, thankfully.)

"More REAL" is pretty much the antithesis of any sort of theater that interested me when I was taking theater direction/history classes. I almost think we're to the point of being conditioned to want "real" performances as opposed to wanting entertaining performances... Eh - I dunno. I think about getting back into…

This is more or less why I just skip pre-orders. If, like the developers say, the extra content isn't crucial to the storyline, then that's the game I'm going talk about and either praise/criticize. I can't really trust whether the product'll be great or not, and a $60 game's a bigger risk than a $10 book - so, they…

It's true that they've been making these claims for a long time - and did deliver nicely on the claims in ME1. (I'd say ME2 was contentious at best whether your choices really mattered.) But, boy howdy, have the marketing and ad bucks been flowing since EA picked Bioware up. I don't remember if there were any ME1…

While I do agree with you - and I've actually said the same thing to someone else at some point regarding this whole "change the ending" fiasco - I do have to wonder something:

I wouldn't mind watching the world end. I imagine watching the Sun's nuclear energies finally push out an expansive wall of death (which is totally the scientific term for it) in a couple billion years would be pretty neat-o.

For gaming? I bought a pair of those Turtle Beach PX11 (or something like that - I don't know exactly what they are) for something like $35 bucks. Has a decent mic that I can turn on/off and move out of my face if I don't want it there, and has decent sound. I don't need freakin' surround sound or whatever other fancy…

Don't worry 'bout rambling - I do it all the time.

Speaking in metaphors in no way relinquishes semantic control. If you look at some of the most common instances of metaphors, you'll find that the semantic control is very much still in the speaker's grasp (a la the examples provided in books like Metaphors We Live By). While it may seem like metaphorical speech is…

You're right to say that it isn't just about the hero cult/sacrifice story. However, it's mainly about this. This is why the conclusion, denouement, and epilogue all support the theme of sacrifice accordingly. These areas in the plot are primarily used to complete and reinforce a thematic thesis, and they all pretty…

When an author dies, you approximate their intention through an investigation of existing primary and secondary sources as well as an analysis of notable influences that they would have had access to. This is relatively standard practice in the field of literary analysis. You're obviously not going to capture the…

It's your call if you don't know what you mean by it. That doesn't mean that every author operates this way. When I write something, I certainly know exactly what it means. If other audience members can't figure that it, it's a sign to me that I need to edit my story or poem because I didn't effectively communicate my…

Thank you.

Unless it is "supposed" to be something. A fair number of BAM, classical, medieval, Renaissance, and avant-garde artists would disagree with the assumption that art doesn't have inherent authorship - or, for that matter, inherent rules. (I'm in their camp.) While some of the modernists, postmodernists, and…

Hmm - glad you mentioned this. I've never seen that little ending clip until just now. So, replace a grave idea of sacrifice with a "I'm going to need medical attention" sacrifice. That's a real awful ending, though... Yeesh...

*I know I said that the spoiler glove was off, but I'm too timid not to at least warn folks...*

*Spoiler glove off at this point...*